One of the things I dislike when purchasing a new computer is having to reinstall software, drivers, configurations etc. Will migration assistant transfer all the apps and settings even for advanced software 100%?
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If I purchase a new MBP will migration assistant transfer everything 100%?
- Thread starter richard371
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No. Migration assistant is terrible and not anything like iOS/iPadOS migration. Might as well just set it up as new honestly.
That's what I thought. I have some software thats a pain to reinstall. Maybe ill hold on from upgrading my 2020 13"M1 to the 14" M2 Pro.
I think the question you're asking is if you can ensure you have 100% continuity of experience. Even if you get an exact clone of your old machine, the answer is still going to be no. Not everything is entirely software based. I always have a handful of software license problems everytime I have to migrate. Even though all the license files, keys, and tokens verifying a software product transfers over, it doesn't mean that it'll necessarily be recognized as valid on your new machine.
The experience is mostly good, but there are always going to be enough small annoyances and blips that makes switching machines a chore to people like me who have a ton of software packages and specific setups. It only takes one small quirk to create a cascade of problems for me.
Granted, it is MUCH BETTER than it used to be, but it's still enough of a disruption that I'm not willing to upgrade computers for minor improvements. There has to be a real awesomely good reason before I'm willing to adopt a new machine.
For people with just a handful of licenses and who don't have customized packages installed from the command line and such, I think it's gotten painless enough that it's not an issue. I wouldn't hesitate to migrate my wife from machine to machine.
That’s about what I figured. I think I’ll hold off. It’s not as easy as switching to a newer iPad etc.
I used MA on a mid 2012 macbook pro to a 2021 macbook pro and it worked just fine. I had software from the web and mac app store. Now some software was not compatible with the newest OS but most everything else worked. It is a slow process since I had a 1TB drive on the mid mbp took late evening till mid morning next day over wifi.
I have a Time Machine external drive. I have heard that Migration Assistant can use that rather than a connection to the previous Mac. Anyone done this? Does it work well? Is it faster than connecting the 2 Macs?
I've tried that method as well as directly connecting 2 Macs. My Time Machine volume was a specific one time backup onto an SSD and not my usual network Time Machine backup.
It wasn't too different. Maybe there was a speed difference, but every method I tried took about 8-12 hours for my 2TB drive with lots of legacy quirks from years of shoving dev tools I've forgotten about into my system. After 5 hours, I stopped paying attention so my feedback is very unreliable. All I remember is being disappointed at how long it took no matter how I did it.
The one thing that's very important to know about the migration is that no matter how you do it, make sure you're using a USB4/TB spec cable. That white USB-C cable that comes with your new expensive MBP is a USB 2.0 cable for charging purposes only. If you mistakenly think that's a full speed data cable, you're in for a looooong wait.
Thank you for that info. It sounds like it might be easier and faster to just start clean with a new Mac and manually reinstall software, get the software activated, and tediously go through all my settings in System Preferences to try and get the new Mac set up the same as the old Mac. I suppose starting clean may also end up with a more reliable system.
I did the migration assistant with both computers attached by a Thunderbolt 4 cable. It took about an hour to transfer slightly under 1TB, which I didn’t think was too bad. It also went relatively smoothly, though not perfectly.
However, I was going from an Intel MBP running Monterey to an M2 Max MBP running Ventura and some of the software wasn’t compatible or didn’t transfer. In the case of Adobe Photoshop, I had to download a different version. I spent a frustrating day trying to sort out what I needed - I didn’t realize that not everything I was using would work on a Silicon Mac - I somehow missed that when they came out with the M1 as I had no intention then of upgrading.
However, I was going from an Intel MBP running Monterey to an M2 Max MBP running Ventura and some of the software wasn’t compatible or didn’t transfer. In the case of Adobe Photoshop, I had to download a different version. I spent a frustrating day trying to sort out what I needed - I didn’t realize that not everything I was using would work on a Silicon Mac - I somehow missed that when they came out with the M1 as I had no intention then of upgrading.
I never had issues with Migration Assistant and I have used it really many times. The best way to make an 1:1 copy of your old machine is to select it as source and then transfer everything via the Migration Assistant. Do not use Time Machine for that. It works well, but you might need to make some adjustments after the restore (maybe reinstalling apps, or just logging back into them)
My 2¢...
I transferred a MacBook Air M1 over to a MacBook Pro M1 Pro over a Thunderbolt 4 cable (macOS Monterey to Monterey). Took about 35 minutes and worked perfectly. I think maybe I might have had to re-enter the license code for one or two apps (but perhaps not; can't recall exactly), but honestly it was quite impressive how well it worked. And quite fast, too, with a Thunderbolt cable.
Pre-setup - I made a throwaway account on the new machine to make sure it was completely up to date on the OS version (same as old machine). Once that was completed, I did a factory reset through the OS and deleted the throwaway account, then connected the two machines with a TB4 cable and ran Migration Assistant on the old machine and started the setup on the new machine. The rest went off without a hitch.
I transferred a MacBook Air M1 over to a MacBook Pro M1 Pro over a Thunderbolt 4 cable (macOS Monterey to Monterey). Took about 35 minutes and worked perfectly. I think maybe I might have had to re-enter the license code for one or two apps (but perhaps not; can't recall exactly), but honestly it was quite impressive how well it worked. And quite fast, too, with a Thunderbolt cable.
Pre-setup - I made a throwaway account on the new machine to make sure it was completely up to date on the OS version (same as old machine). Once that was completed, I did a factory reset through the OS and deleted the throwaway account, then connected the two machines with a TB4 cable and ran Migration Assistant on the old machine and started the setup on the new machine. The rest went off without a hitch.
The answer depends very much on how much reinstalling you will have to do. Folks who have little third party stuff tend to prefer installing form scratch every time. Others like me who have a lot only do it every few years. I always use Setup Assistant which uses Migration Assistant code, but does it first run after so no need to create an interim user.
In the last week I have setup two new Macs with Setup Assistant importing from TM backup of previous Mac. Both have been very successful. There is inevitably a lot of Full Disk Access etc which needs re-granting, some apps need serial numbers or logging in. iCloud Photos and Data need to compare themselves with the Cloud version which can take a while.
In the last week I have setup two new Macs with Setup Assistant importing from TM backup of previous Mac. Both have been very successful. There is inevitably a lot of Full Disk Access etc which needs re-granting, some apps need serial numbers or logging in. iCloud Photos and Data need to compare themselves with the Cloud version which can take a while.
When I had to use it with my Time Machine backup after my Mac got wiped it was a great experience. It almost felt like nothing had happened.
I used migration assistant when migrating from my Early 2015 MacBook Pro 13 to my M1 MBP. It did a good job but Microsoft Office kept launching with an annoying key chain error. The only Office app I don’t see it in is Excel. Overall, it was pretty smooth but long. Next time I upgrade is likely just to restore a Time Machine backup of my files.
Every single time, I have seen Migration Assistant work perfectly (As long as instructions were followed properly), but if you are still skeptical, you can always use a Time Machine Backup (Which requires an external SSD)
Migration Assistant doesn't even transfer over basic system settings though. iOS/iPadOS literally create a mirror image minus some of the security settings and I think this is exactly what MacOS needs to do but doesn't.
Maybe with future versions of macOS on Apple Silicon, that will change. I suspect complex nature of macOS makes this not attainable right now. But it’s not out of the question. The advantage being the synergy between hardware and software. Look how super easy it is now to boot into the recovery environment instead of the obnoxious method of command + c. Just hold down the power button.
Future migrations could just involve putting your new Mac next to the old one and it does the rest along with syncing backups from iCloud.
Well, actually it does! It transfers all system settings, including network configuration. I suggest you have a better look at the available options.
The reply 2 above was misleading.
You SHOULD use setup assistant (which runs the very first time the Mac boots) to do the transfer. It may not bring over 100%, but it will probably get you 90-95% (or closer) to "where you need to be".
BUT...
You must do it properly.
I would recommend that you use an EXTERNAL USB backup drive, such as time machine. A cloned backup created with either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper is better (both of these apps are free to download and use for 30 days, creating one will cost you nothing).
Have your backup ready BEFORE you unbox the new MBP.
Unbox the MBP and set it on the table.
DO NOT OPEN THE LID YET (it will boot as soon as you lift the lid).
Connect the backup. NOW open the lid.
The MBP will boot to the setup screen.
Start clicking through.
At the appropriate moment, setup assistant will ask if you wish to migrate from another drive. YES, you want to do this, so "aim" setup assistant at your backup.
SA will "digest" the contents of the backup.
It takes time, so be patient.
SA will present you with "a list" of stuff to be migrated.
I'd just migrate it all -- that's the default setting, anyway.
Turn SA loose and let it go to work.
The migration will take a while, so be patient.
When done, you should see your old login screen.
So... log in and "look around".
Good luck!
You SHOULD use setup assistant (which runs the very first time the Mac boots) to do the transfer. It may not bring over 100%, but it will probably get you 90-95% (or closer) to "where you need to be".
BUT...
You must do it properly.
I would recommend that you use an EXTERNAL USB backup drive, such as time machine. A cloned backup created with either CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper is better (both of these apps are free to download and use for 30 days, creating one will cost you nothing).
Have your backup ready BEFORE you unbox the new MBP.
Unbox the MBP and set it on the table.
DO NOT OPEN THE LID YET (it will boot as soon as you lift the lid).
Connect the backup. NOW open the lid.
The MBP will boot to the setup screen.
Start clicking through.
At the appropriate moment, setup assistant will ask if you wish to migrate from another drive. YES, you want to do this, so "aim" setup assistant at your backup.
SA will "digest" the contents of the backup.
It takes time, so be patient.
SA will present you with "a list" of stuff to be migrated.
I'd just migrate it all -- that's the default setting, anyway.
Turn SA loose and let it go to work.
The migration will take a while, so be patient.
When done, you should see your old login screen.
So... log in and "look around".
Good luck!
I mean, I’ve bought at least 4 different MacOS products in the last two years and it doesn’t even though I select everything sooooo
I use it at least two times a year and it works all the time.
You have to select System & Network if you want system settings to transfer to your target computer.
Went ahead and upgraded from the M1 13" 2020 to the 14" mbp 2023. Did a full backup using Time Machine to an external SS and used the migration assistant to setup the new Mac.
I checked all of the boxes to transfer everything. Took about 45 min. Had to sign back in to a few apps etc. Had to reinstall light room from creative cloud as I got an error. Other than that was pretty smooth. Would have taken me all day with Windows machine.
I checked all of the boxes to transfer everything. Took about 45 min. Had to sign back in to a few apps etc. Had to reinstall light room from creative cloud as I got an error. Other than that was pretty smooth. Would have taken me all day with Windows machine.
A question about the system nettings transferring to the new computer -
I clicked the checkbox to move the system settings to the new computer. Does that also transfer such things as the various WiFi routers and passwords I’ve used? I know I put in the password for the router I’m currently using when I first opened up the computer so I’m wondering if I’ll need to identify and put in the password to another wifi router I use frequently. I don’t have plans on using it for the rest of the month, but if I’ve got to put in the password etc. again, I may put it up and log in now, while I’ve got spare time, rather than get annoyed when I’m tired after a long day and have to do one more thing while setting up camp.
Lately I had a decent experience. Moved from M1 MAX to M2 MAX using a Time Machine SSD. About 1 TB. Only things that needed adjustments, Office and Acrobat pro required log in for authentication. Quicken for Mac lost the last day transactions though I had synced just before the Time Machine backup. Mail and networking settings with all passwords transferred fine. Upon booting the new machine needed to upgrade to latest MAC release, but then proceeded te transfer after it finished and rebooted. Many apps they have unique settings and passwords transferred fine as did all Keychain info. I always keep the last Time Machine and a supper supper copy from the retired machine for a while in case I have something missing.